The Young Trail Hunters eBook

“When ther bar come to ther foot of ther tree
he sot down on his haunches, ter kinder get breath
a little, and then he begun ter climb it; and blast
my picter boys, ef he couldn’t giv me three pints
in the game of climbin’, and then beat me.
It didn’t seem ter me he was more’n a
second, gittin’ up. I kep’ climbin’
higher an’ higher, and the bar kep’ a-follerin’.
By and by I got so high, that ther tree begun ter bend
backwards and for’ards, but ther bar kep’
comin’ higher and higher.

[Illustration: Jerry and the Bear.]

“I saw ’twarn’t no use, so I made
up my mind ter swing ther tree over ez far ez I could,
and drop and try my legs onct more. So I clim’
a little higher, and when the tree begun ter bend,
that bar sot thar and just laffed, if ever a bar laffed
in this world. The tree kep’ swayin’
back’ards and for’ards jist like a cradle.

“I watched my chance, and, when ther top come
putty nigh ther ground, I jist dropped, and, when
I picked myself up, blast my eyes, ef thar warn’t
ther bar, right side er me. Wal I started agin,
but hadn’t run more’n fifty yards, afore
I tripped and down I went. I knowed ’twas
all up with me then, so I jist laid still. Why,
I was so scart I couldn’t hev moved ef I’d
tried; but I did look up jist once, to see the bar
set clus by, watchin’ me, and lookin’
as mad as a wet hen.

“I never was so scart afore nor since.
I ’spected every minute to feel his teeth and
hear my bones a-crunchin’, but I didn’t.

“Putty soon I heered somebody down in the woods
a-callin’. I ’spectcd it was dad,
but I didn’t dare to holler or make any noise.
I heered ’em callin’ agin and agin; putty
soon I jist looked out’er ther corner of my
eye, and see the bar was gone. At first I couldn’t
believe it, and ‘spected he was playin’
‘possum—­waitin’ ter see ef I
moved, afore he went for me. Well, I kep’
putty still for a while, but not hearin’ anything
from the bar, I finally looked up, and see that he’d
gone for good, and then I got up and started for home
in just about ez big a hurry, ez any feller ever went
down a mountain.

“I never was so took down in my life boys, I
wouldn’t a bin s’prised at anything, arter
thet. I mustered up spunk enuff ter speak to the
feller, and he told me ’twas a tame bar, thet
belonged ter him, thet hed got loose thet day, and
he’d bin up a-findin’ him.

“Well boys, I never felt so ashamed of myself
afore nor since.

“You may bet, I never told no one ’bout
it afore, and I shan’t agin. That’s
all.”

We were very much amused at Jerry’s story, and
the boys pronounced it decidedly the best they had
yet heard, and as the hour was late, we all “turned
in,” in search of a good night’s rest.